Every Step You Take [Hardcover]

Judith Kelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2003

It was supposed to be a story line - just something to please her demanding new editor. But as Claire Barrow sits at her computer, outlining a plot about identity theft, fiction is becoming reality. Still beset with grief over the death of her policeman husband and struggling to raise her increasingly truculent stepdaughter, Claire must face the frightening truth that someone is appropriating her identity, piece by piece.Then comes the shocking news that the courts have set free a vicious killer her husband had tried, unsuccessfully, to put away. With her world crumbling around her, nothing is as it seems to Claire, and she can rely only upon herself to keep from becoming the ultimate victim.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Group (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0641649592
• ISBN-13: 978-0641649592
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 2, 2004

By 

Julie Levenhagen (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Every Step You Take (Hardcover)

I had high hopes for this novel when I saw that my favorite author, Harlan Coben, found it to be "a powerhouse of a thriller". His recommendation was all I needed to pick up the book. However, after reading "Every Step You Take", all I can say is that Coben may be a brilliant author, but when it comes to reviewing novels, he is far too generous.
This novel was not worth the work it took to read. There were so many subplots mixed in that all I was left with was a flurry of inconsequential characters to muddle through. Although the character of murderer B.B. Lebeau had the potential to be fascinating, the author never fully developed this.
This novel continuously hinted at there being more to its plot, but never reached its potential. The ending was especially unsatisfactory, as it was implausible and even ridiculous. Motives given for crimes committed were weak and absurd.
This novel was, unfortunately, a letdown.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book but ridiculous ending, April 23, 2004

By 

Janet Gerber (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Every Step You Take (Hardcover)

I have read 5 of Judith Kelman's books so far, and enjoyed every one. This one was particularly gripping. HOWEVER, every ending so far has been ridiculous. I have come to realize that this author always leaves loose ends hanging, and always has an ending that doesn't make sense. However, I am still happy to read her books - the enjoyment I get for 95% of the book more than compensates for the weak endings.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A confusing mishmash with a very weird ending., October 20, 2003

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Every Step You Take (Hardcover)

The only good thing that I can say about "Every Step You Take," the new thriller by Judith Kelman, is that the author had the germ of a good idea at the beginning of the novel. The heroine, Claire Barrow, becomes a widow after her police officer husband, Noah, apparently takes his life. It seems that Noah was despondent after being accused of witness tampering and obstructing justice while investigating an important case involving a vicious serial killer.

Claire's life subsequently goes from bad to worse. Her teenaged stepdaughter, Rainey, becomes increasingly rebellious, and Claire, who is under contract to write a new novel, gets a new editor who resembles Attila the Hun. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, Kelman is not content to explore the themes of Noah's death, Claire's struggle to be a competent single parent, and her efforts to write a new novel. The author brings in a host of other plotlines, including one about a scraggly dog that Claire takes in, another about the theft of Claire's identity, still another about a club of forensic experts who are looking into the same murders that Noah had been investigating, another about a disreputable boyfriend of Claire's stepdaughter, and yet another about an aunt who tries to civilize Rainey.

This book becomes increasingly busy until it reaches an ending that is so outlandish that it left me scratching my head in bewilderment. I have nothing against surprise endings, as long as they flow logically from previous events. That is not the case here. "Every Step You Take" loses its way after a promising beginning and never recovers.